5,4,3,2,1,...Happy New Year!
by Shermy

Comment by philup:
out of focus...

5,4,3,2,1,...Happy New Year!
by Shermy

Comment by MAK:
Happy new year a lowwer f-stop (f22-f16) would of given focus to the glasses too and made this a better image

Happy?......birthday.
by Shermy

Comment by LoudDog:
Greetings from the Critique Club Mackenzie:

Cute photo and a good concept, but there are a few flaws that kept you from getting a higher score. First, the lighting is not very good, you need more of it. It looks like you just used the existing light in the room? If you don̢۪t have lighting equipment, you can use the on-board flash with good results, just be sure to turn it down to it̢۪s lowest setting and/or diffuse it somehow (I̢۪ve heard of people putting a piece of semi clear tape over the flash to diffuse it).
Also, for a portrait like this I shouldn̢۪t be able to see all the wrinkles/creases/details in the backdrop. I don̢۪t know if your camera has manual settings, but if it does you would want to set the aperture as low as it goes to get a nice shallow depth of field. This will blur the background. You can also set your dog up further from the background to blur it more.
The photo looks a little soft as well, that may be because of your camera, a slow shutter speed (because of the low lighting) or it just needs to be sharpened.
Again, great concept (a similar shot took second place) but it needs a little work. Great dog by the way, it̢۪s either very patient or very well trained to sit there like that. Good luck on future challenges.

Martini.....Life Of The Party!
by Shermy

Comment by Commando303:
Simple, but it's not bad.

Martini.....Life Of The Party!
by Shermy

Comment by Dvosdon:
This is a nice and cheerful picture. The shadow of the glass is nice but at the same time there is the distracting shadow of the model.

Martini.....Life Of The Party!
by Shermy

Comment by Tammer:
While she looks like she's having fun, I'm not crazy about the yellow background as I think it tends to make her skin look more yellow and sallow.

Happy?......birthday.
by Shermy

Comment by Chippie19:
A little underexposed, but very cute!

Happy?......birthday.
by Shermy

Comment by Beach_mel:
Great idea, lighting needs work.

Happy?......birthday.
by Shermy

Comment by LeeD:
Potentially a very cute shot, but the lighting is way too dark. The background is a distraction also.

Happy?......birthday.
by Shermy

Comment by ttreit:
More lighting from the front would help the subject stand out from the background more.